Easel



Feb. 14, 1967 J. J. BETHONEY 3,304,045

EASEL Filed Feb. 25, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet l 5 INVENTOR.

JOHN J. BETHONEY 0 BY wm 62mg 3 9 ATTORNEYS Feb. 14, 1967 Filed Feb. 23,1965 J. J. BETHONEY 3,304,045

EASEL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

JOHN .J BETHONEY ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,304,045 EASEL JohnJoseph Bethoney, 109 E. Canton St., Boston, Mass. 02118 Filed Feb. 23,1965, Ser. No. 434,521 1 (Claim. (Cl. 248-451) This invention relatesgenerally to artists easels and more particularly is directed towards anew and improved easel of particularly sturdy construction which isadapted to accommodate a wide variety of frame sizes and which isreadily foldable into a compact unit for easy portability.

Artists easels are available in a number of different designs accordingto the artists preference and his needs. Studio easels normally are ofrelatively large heavy construction and are usually not convenientlyportable since they are designed for use primarily within a studio. Inaddition to the studio type easel, various portable easels areobtainable. These normally are of a light, foldable construction so thatthey may be carried about and set up at a selected location. Suchportable easels, by reason of their foldability, heretofore have notbeen particularly sturdy and the support provided for the painting issubstantially less firm than that provided by the studio easel. Inaddition, the portable type easels have been somewhat awkward to fold,carry and set up and are not readily adjustable to different sizeframes.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provideimprovements in artists easels.

Another object of this invention is to provide an artists easel which isof extremely sturdy construction and yet which is readily foldable,conveniently portable and may be readily set up at a particular site.

Still another object of this invention is to provide an artists easelwhich is readily adjustable to accommodate boards and canvases in a widerange of sizes.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide an artists easelwhich may be readily knocked down into a package of small size forshipment and quickly set up after delivery.

More particularly, this invention features an artists easel comprising acenter board to which is adjustably mounted a pair of horizontalsupports for engaging the upper and lower edges of a board or canvasframe laid against the center board. A pair of legs are hinged in anovel fashion to the center board and, when in their extended positions,cooperate with the horizontal supports to brace the entire assembly. Arear leg is hinged to the rear face of the center board in a novelmanner and also carries a hinged cross-strut which is adjustable todifferent positions for varying the angular inclination of the easel andits board or canvas.

The construction of the easel is such that it is readily foldable to acompact size and, in its folded condition, the rear leg thereof providesa self-contained handle for carrying the easel about. The variousportions of the easel cooperate in such a fashion that they function intheir extended positions to provide a firm support for the easel and intheir folded positions interlock to a certain extent to keep the easelfolded.

But these and other features of the invention along with further objectsand advantages thereof will become more fully apparent from thefollowing detailed description of a preferred embodiment thereof withreference being made to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of an erected artists easel madeaccording to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a view in side elevation of the FIG. 1 easel,

FIG. 3 is a view in front elevation of the easel in a folded condition,

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary rear elevation on a somewhat ice enlarged scaleshowing the top portion of the easel with one of the legs folded and theother extended,

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view in side elevation showing the upper portionof the easel with the rear leg folded, and

FIGS. 6 and 7 are side and front elevations respectively of amodification of the invention. Referring now to the drawings, thereference character 10 indicates an easel generally organized about aflat center board 12, typically formed from a hard pine or the like, andbeing in the order of about four feet in height and four inches in widthwith rounded ends. Attached to either side of the center board 12 byhinges 14 are forelegs 16 and 18 perhaps five and one half feet inlength and also of wood. A single rear leg 20 extends rearwardly fromthe center board 12 to provide a tripod support for the easel.

The three legs of the easel are braced when extended by means of across-piece 22 fastened at each end to a foreleg by means of bolts 24and wing nuts 26. The cross-piece 22 is formed with a center notch 28 atits upper edge to accommodate a strut 30 hinged at its rearward end tothe lower portion of the rear leg 20. The forward portion of the strut30 is formed with an elongated slot 32 to receive the shank of a bolt 34which passes through the notched portion of the cross-piece. A wing nut36 is provided whereby the strut 30 may be moved along the notch inorder to vary the angle of the rear leg 20 so that the inclination ofthe center board 12 may be adjusted to a manner best suited to theartist.

The angular spread of the forelegs 16 and 18 is fixed by the angle ofthe bevelled upper ends 38 of the forelegs and the cross-piece 22. Itwill be understood that the bevelled surfaces bear against the flatedges of the center board when extended as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4. Theupper end of the rear leg 20 is also bevelled at 40 (FIG. 5) to limitthe movement of the rear leg. This bevelled end 40, when the leg isextended, bears against the rear face of a block 42 to which the rearleg is hinged at 44 and which block is secured to the rear of the centerboard 12. A pair of wooden chocks are secured in spaced parallelrelation on the rear of the block 42 and to either side of the rear leg20 so as to hold the upper portion of the rear leg firmly in positionwhen the leg is erected. It will be understood that the inner faces ofthe chocks will engage the sides of the leg 20 in a fairly snugface-to-face contact when the leg is swung into the extended positionand its bevelled face 40 brought against the rear face of the block 42.

A rectangular brace 48, as best shown in FIG. 4, is also secured to therear face of the block 42 and having outer ends extending beyond theedges of the center board 12 to provide support for the upper ends ofthe forelegs 16 and 18 when the legs are in their extended positions.

It will be noted in FIG. 1 that the center board 12 is formed with apair of spaced parallel lower slots 50 which serve to mount a horizontalbottom shelf 52 to the center board by rneans of studs 54- set into therear edge of the shelf and extending through the slots to be locked inposition by wing nuts 56. The shelf 52 will be seen in FIG. 2 to beformed with an upright lip 58 for retaining the edge of a board orcanvas frame set onto the shelf 52. The shelf 52 typically is 30 inchesor so in length and extends beyond the erected forelegs 16 and 18 so asto bear against the forward edges of the forelegs. In this fashion, theshelf 52 serves as a strengthening member and adds to the rigidity ofthe easel when it is fully set up.

Towards the upper portion of the center board 12 there is formed a pairof slots 60 and 62 that are in spaced alignment with one another andparallel to the lower slots 50. The mid portion of the center board 12is solid so as not to weaken the board as would be the case if the slots60 and 62 were continuous. In any event, the upper slot 60* and 62accommodate a horizontal top support 64 being on the order of only eightinches or so in length and generally having the same cross-section asthe shelf 52. The function of the support 64 is to engage the upper edgeof the canvas frame that is placed on the easel and for this purpose itmay be adjusted to a selected height on the center board by means of astud 66 extending from the rear of the support 64 through the sloteither 60 or 62 and secured by means of a wing nut 68. It will bereadily understood that a wide range of frame sizes and shapes may bemounted on the easel since there is no limitation to the width of theframe and the height may be readily accommodated by selectivelyadjusting either the top support 64 or the shelf 52 or both asnecessary. Also, the frame, once it is mounted, may be raised or loweredwithin the limitations of the slots to a height best suited to theartist.

The easel may be quickly and conveniently folded for carrying byremoving the wing nuts 56 that hold the shelf 52 in position, thenremoving the shelf and fixing it lengthwise on the center board with thetwo studs 54 extending through the same slot. The wing nuts are againattached to hold the shelf 52 in position. The top support 64 is thenrotated 90 to be parallel with the shelf 52 as shown in FIG. 3. The nextstep is to remove the bolt 34 and wing nut 36 that connects the strut 30to the cross-piece 22. The strut is then folded back against the rearleg which is then swung forwardly against the back of the center board.The bolt 34 and wing nut 36- may then be replaced either in the notchopening or in the slot 32 as desired. Next, one of the win-g nuts 26holding the cross-piece 22 to one of the forelegs 16- and :18 isloosened and a cross-piece is swung up so that the free end ispositioned over the lower end of one of the slots 50 through which abolt 24 is passed and secured to hold the crosspiece 22 firmly in theposition shown in FIG. 3.

As best shown in FIG. 5, the rear leg 20 defines an opening 70 whenfolded so that the upper portion of the rear leg provides a convenienthandle for lifting the folded easel. It will be understood that theeasel in this fashion may be carried about erect or a suitable strap(notshown), may be lashed about the legs and the easel carried about inany desired position.

The easel may also be disassembled for shipping purposes within acompact package. This may be done by removing the pins from the hinges14 and 44 so that the length of the entire package is no more than thelength of the legs 16 and 18. For this purpose, the hinges are of thetype with removable pins which may be driven out with an axial pressureapplied thereto.

In order to aid in keeping the easel steady and in one position, rubbertips 72 are applied to the lower ends of the two forelegs and the singlerear leg. For use out-of-doors, the rubber tips may be replaced byspikes or other type of pointed gripping device.

Referring now more particularly to FIGS. 6 and 7, there is shown amodification of the invention and in this embodiment a flat center-board80' is formed with a single longitudinal center slot 82 having anenlarged center portion 84. The narrower end portions of the slot 82 areprovided to adjnstably mount to the centerboard a bottom shelf 86 and atop support 8 8 which serve to hold the frame in position. The enlargedcenter portion 84 of the slot accommodates the upper end of a rear leg90 which is attached to the centerboard by means of a bolt 92 extendinglaterally through the centenboard. The bolt also passes through theupper ends of a pair of forelegs 94 which extend downwardly from thesides of the centerboard. It Will be understood that by tightening up ona wing nut 96 the three legs will be clamped in fixed position. Theangle of the rear leg may be adjusted by loosening the nut 96sulficiently to. swing the rear leg into the new position. The rear legis of a thickness corresponding to the width of the enlarged slotportion 84 so that the dimensions of the slot are not altered by theclamping action of the bolt 92 and nut 96. A cross-piece 98 extendsparallel to the shelf 86 on the rear side of the centerboard to clampthe two forelegs 94 for additional rigidity when a nut and bolt 100 aretightened in place- It will be appreciated that the easels illustratedand described herein are particularly rugged and yet readily portableunits that may be manufactured at a low cost and yet will provide manyyears of use to the artist. Also, they may be adjusted not only to thesize of the board or canvas applied to it, but also may be adjusted asto height and inclination best suited to the artist.

While the invention has been described with particular reference to theillustrated embodiments, it will be understood that numerousmodifications thereto will appear to those skilled in the art. Also, itwill be understood that the above description and accompanying drawingsshould be taken as illustrative of the invention and not in a limitingsense.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim and desire to obtainby Letters Patent of the United States is:

-An artists easel for supporting a canvas frame or the like, comprising(a) a generally rectangular center board having flat front, rear andside faces,

(b) said center boa-rd being formed with a plurality of spaced parallelslots extending lengthwise of said center boar-d,

(-c) a pair of elongated members slideably and detachably connected tosaid center board through said slots and normally oriented in spacedparallel relation to one another and perpendicularly to the length ofsaid center board, said members being adapted to engage the upper andlower edges of a canvas frame laid against said center board,

((1) a leg hinged to each of said side faces and to the rear face ofsaid center board, the hinged ends of said legs being beveled to bearflush against said center board when said legs are extended, said sidehinged legs being partially braced by one of said members when said sidehinged legs are extended,

(e) a brace mounted parallel to said lower member and rearwardly of saidboard and said side hinged legs for partially bracing said side, hingedlegs when extended,

(f) a pair of spaced parallel chocks mounted to the rear face of saidboard for engaging the sides of the upper end of said rear leg whenextended,

(g) a cross brace mounted to the upper rear face of said board extendingbeyond the sides thereof to partially brace the upper ends of the sidehinged legs when extended,

(h) a cross-piece detachably connected between the lower portions ofsaid side hinged legs and,

(i) a strut hinged at one end to said rear leg and slideably connectedto said cross-piece at its other end.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 281,591 7/1883Werner 248463 1,023,117 4/1912 Anderson 248-464 1,968,644 7/1934Hickerson 248436 X 2,064,232 12/1936 Tepper 248-452 2,526,527 10/1950Zander 248-463 2,745,618 5/1956 Verner 248- X 3,095,665 7/1963 Killen248-455 X 3,145,966 8/1964 Landon M-8-464 CLAUDE A. LE ROY, PrimaryExaminer.

R. P. SEITTER, Assistant Examiner.

